About Us

In the Opinion of the Referee was created by Mike Register, a USSF Referee and USSF Referee Instructor based in the metro Atlanta, GA, USA area. Mike became frustrated at the lack of good refereeing resources available on the Internet, and so the website was born.

Mike first picked up a whistle during the nascent days of soccer in the USA. “I originally became a referee during the mid 1970s, at the peak of the popularity of the old NASL. Refereeing youth soccer was very different then. Most of the fields didn’t even have grass on them and the parents knew nothing about the game.” Some might argue little has changed.

After a long hiatus from refereeing, Mike recertified as a Grade 9 (yes, grade 9) referee in 2009, when his daughter expressed an interest in refereeing.

Mike is currently a USSF Grade 7 referee, USSF Referee Instructor, and an officer in his local high school referee association. “I really enjoy teaching and working with the young referees. It’s fun to see them come to class as players and leave as referees.” Mike also mentors young referees at his local club.